Robert Chang tasted a truffle for the first time at a trattoria in Germany — and it changed his life.
Today, as chief truffle officer at the American Truffle Company, Chang works with scientist Paul Thomas and clients around the country to plant oak and hazelnut orchards with a goal of getting black truffles to grow beneath the trees. And the company hosts the annual Napa Truffle Festival — this year’s will be Jan. 12-15 — which offers educational talks as well as a series of truffle-loaded meals sure to make foodies swoon.
Chang recently chatted with us about what it takes to grow truffles outside Europe — and why sharp-nosed dogs are now preferred over truffle-hunting pigs.
Q. I know you’re a Stanford alum and Silicon Valley engineer. What’s your truffle backstory?
A. I love learning languages and had always wanted to learn German, so I applied to a fellowship organized by the Bosch Foundation. That’s where I had my first truffle experience — in a little mom-and-pop Italian trattoria in the middle of Munich. It was a very simple dish: a tagliatelle pasta tossed in butter with fresh black truffle shaved on top. I was immediately blown away. It was love at first bite.
Coming back to Silicon Valley, I began to wonder if you can grow it. There are plenty of people who claim to be able to grow truffles, but when I looked under the hoods, there was no science. I eventually found one guy who really had the science: Dr. Paul Thomas. He’s British. We really hit it off. Eventually, he asked me to become his business partner and start and run the North American operation to provide the scientific knowledge and expertise to help people grow truffles in North America. Paul and I co-founded the American Truffle Company back in 2007. Over the years, we’ve helped people establish many truffle orchards in California and across the country.
Q. What does it take to cultivate truffles in California?
A. We’ve had quite a bit of success with producing truffles. Our first harvest was in 2019 and last season, we harvested a lot of truffles from an orchard in Napa County.
If you were to try to grow truffles in their natural habitats in Europe, there’s relatively little science needed. But outside their natural habitat, it requires a tremendous amount of science to get the conditions right — the soil, the climate and even the organisms in the soil are very, very different. In general, the ideal climate is something close to Mediterranean — summers are not too hot and winters are not too cold.
Over 90 percent of the of the soil types I’ve seen in the U.S. can, in fact, support truffles. Typically, it takes six to 12 months to prepare the soil. The first harvest is five to seven years after you plant the trees. Once you start producing, you can expect truffles every year for the next 40 to 60 years, if you manage the the orchard property.
Q. What’s driving the growing interest in truffles?
A. It’s driven by two factors: Demand has been skyrocketing. The demand has always outstripped the supply, (but) in the last five years, truffles have gotten more well-known in popular culture. Second, the scientific approach to growing truffles is having success. If you try to grow truffles (here) without access to science, the failure rate has been more than 98 percent.
Q. Do you use dogs or pigs to find the truffles?
A. Traditionally, in Europe, people have used pigs, but nowadays, that’s more for show. Trained dogs are a lot easier to transport and control. The truffles are actually underground. When a truffle is ripe, it starts giving off a characteristic aroma. You need a dog to tell you exactly where to dig.
Q. What else should people know about truffles?
A. First: Anytime you use truffle products or order something truffle flavored, unless you actually see individual pieces of truffle, it’s very likely made with truffle oil. Second: Truffles are the most lucrative legal crops you can grow. Third: Climate change (means) the native habitats of Europe will no longer be sustainable for truffles within about 30 years. You’ll see is production shifting away to other parts of the world, including North America.
Q. What can you tell me about the upcoming Napa Truffle Festival?
A. On the first day, we have an in-depth seminar on the business and science of truffles, and then the rest of the weekend is for the foodies. Typically, we have winery lunches at two different wineries. This year, they’re at Bouchaine Vineyards and Donum Estate. There is a signature truffle and wine dinner on Saturday night, when we invite Michelin star chefs to each prepare a course to showcase the best of truffle cuisine. It’s a really over-the-top truffle dinner paired with the best wines.
Details: The 2024 Napa Truffle Festival runs Jan. 12-15 at various Wine Country venues. Admission to the Truffle Festival Marketplace at Oxbow Public Market is free; other events range from $105 to $525. Find more information at napatrufflefestival.com.
